With careful planning, all of these items can be relocated securely. Here are some tips for packing and moving your seasonal items to your new home.
Outdoor Displays
When packing outdoor display items, remember that your moving company stocks a variety of packing supplies that can be used for moving outdoor displays. Department, hardware and discount stores carry specialty seasonal-storage products that can also be used when relocating outdoor holiday items.
Inflatables
Store soft fabric inflatable displays in covered totes with rigid sides. This step minimizes the risk that inflatables become ripped or torn. Pack each inflatable separately in a garbage bag or other sealable soft wrap. Don’t move inflatables in bins that also carry sharp or pointed decorations.
Wooden Displays
Larger, flat displays of Santa and his reindeer, snow people or singing choirs can be safely moved with a few steps. Start by removing as much of the lighting and other objects hanging off the decoration as possible. Wrap it in packaging material or plastic sheeting and tape securely.
Have the moving crew stack the wrapped displays upright between mattresses. You can also use mattress boxes from your moving company to cover flat outdoor displays. Add padding and support to carry the boxed displays.
Smaller Displays
Order mirror boxes from your moving company to hold smaller flat displays. These boxes adjust to hold framed pictures and other flat objects, so they’re great resources when you need a custom fit for an outdoor decoration.
Outdoor Lighting
Pack outdoor string lights made of small standard bulbs the same way you pack indoor string lights. Wrap each strand separately and neatly around an empty paper-towel tube, a sturdy plastic hanger or another storage product.
If you wrap lights so they can hang once secure, use a wardrobe box to relocate a large number of light strands. Otherwise, use a sturdy tote or box and packaging material inside the box to protect bulbs from breakage. Label boxes as “fragile” so no items are placed on top of lights during the move.
Spotlights and specialty lights should be securely wrapped in packaging material or placed in boxes with protective packing filler. Walkway candy-cane and icicle lights can be rolled up together, bubble-wrapped and then wrapped in clear plastic to keep the items together and safely cocooned.
Indoor Decorations
If you have many glass ornaments, use dish-packing cartons for glasses. Your moving company offers these specialty packing boxes. Place each ornament in a slot for an individual glass. Specialty boxes for larger items can also be used for indoor and outdoor wreaths and figurines.
Trees
There are two main concerns when moving artificial trees. The concerns are dust and bending. Your artificial trees need support and coverage. If you plan to move your tree in the box in which it came, make certain the box is very sturdy and sealable.
Fortunately, there are many commercial products available to make relocating artificial trees easy. Rolling tree boxes are available. There are also duffel-bag wraps that you enclose around the tree and zip up in place.
To save space, you can wrap individual branches in packaging material, and then wrap all of the branches and the stand together in clear plastic wrap like a cocoon. The tree bundle can then be easily placed safely between or atop boxes in the moving van.
Covered boxes, duffel bags and wrapping also help defeat the dust and debris problem. The stiff needles of artificial trees can collect pieces of lint and road dust while moving. When covered, your artificial tree stays fresh and clean.
Ornaments
As noted above, you can use dish-packing boxes to move your glass or fragile ornaments. If you have a vast miniature ornament collection, use empty egg crates to store them. Place egg crates in totes in layers — protecting each layer with packaging material.
Another trick is to glue plastic or paper cups to the bottoms of covered totes. Line the cups up so they touch each other. After the cups dry in place, set ornaments in the cups, cover the tops with crumpled paper or another filling, and you have a safe way to move these fragile items.
Fabric Items
Use tree skirts, holiday table linens and seasonal bedding to protect fragile items. Stockings and other smaller fabric items should be packed as you would prepare clothing. Wrap these items in tissue, or store them in linen bags and move in boxes.
Valuable Heirlooms
Consider moving extremely valuable seasonal items by vehicle if you’re driving yourself to the new location. Your moving company also offers specialty boxes and specialty shipping services for these types of items. Insure irreplaceable heirlooms and valuable decorations against damage when you have professionals move them for you.
Contact Bekins Van Lines, Inc. to schedule your local, long-distance or international relocation. We offer a variety of packing supplies to handle your seasonal decor and holiday collections.
